Orientated strand board (“OSB”), parallel strand board lumber and other engineered wood products are formed by layering strands (flakes) of wood in specific orientations. Such manufactured wood products are typically manufactured in wide mats from cross-orientated layers of thin, rectangular wooden strips compressed and bonded together with wax and resin adhesives (95% wood, 5% wax and resin). These strips are created by refining wood into strips, which are sifted and then orientated on a belt.
The mat is made in forming a bed, the layers are built up with external layers aligned in the panel direction and internal layers randomly positioned. The number of layers placed is set by the required thickness of the finished panel. The mat is then placed in a thermal press system.
Recently developed press systems utilize a plurality of press units, each having opposed platens. The opposed platens are driven, in part, by an eccentric shaft and motion of the multiple platens is coordinated to permit the press system to operate as designed. Specifically, it is desirable that rotation of all of the eccentric shafts be synchronized such that all eccentric shafts rotate at substantially the same angular velocity and are in positional phase.
Thus, there exists a need for a timing assembly for a press unit of a manufactured wood product press.